Grit Lab Report

Hi Phoebe,

Welcome to your personalized Grit Lab Report!

We will go week by week, reviewing everything you have told us through Poll Everywhere.

We hope this will help you reflect on what you have learned and experienced during Grit Lab.

Important note!

Sometimes, you may not have been able to respond to all polls.

If the data for one of the polls is missing, the automatic report will display NA, or ““.

Okay, let’s get started!

The first half of Grit Lab delves deep intp the passion facet of Grit.

We like to call it Choose Easy, because we think gritty people pursue what they enjoy.

Putting it graphically, gritty people tend to pursue the intersection of these four circles.

The first time we met, you told us where you were on the grit rubric.

Regarding passion you picked Stage 2: I have 2 or 3 emerging interests but am unsure how to figure out which one to pursue .

Regarding perseverance you picked .

As you know, grit grows, so don’t worry if you are not yet where you’d like to be in your grit journey.

Hopefully, this class will help you become grittier each day.

In week 2, we looked at your interests.

Interest is an emotion, and it is the opposite of boredom.

Your interests are the activities or subjects that spontaneously grab your attention.

Trying things out and seeing how you feel is the best way to refine your interests.

In week 3, we studied values, your beliefs about what is important.

You said your top three values were benevolence, achievement, and hedonism.

You wrote a “This I Believe” essay, and here’s where you located it on Schwartz’s value taxonomy.

When we talked about strengths in week 4, you said your personality strength was openness.

You said your top three talents were social, artistic / spatial, and analytic.

We then talked about goal hierarchies.

You said you were not sure yet about your top-level goal.

We discussed self-concordance, or how much a goal aligns to your deeply held values and beliefs.

A goal you said you will be pursuing for the next six months is to midterms and finals .

Here is how self-concordant that goal was:

Don’t worry if your self-concordance for that particular goal is low.

It might mean that you need to reframe that goal in a way that makes it more relevant to your deep self, or change it!

Remember that self-concordance is goal specific, so other goals might be more self-concordant.

We then transitioned to the second part of Grit Lab:

Work Smart

In week 6, we looked at goal setting and planning.

You WOOPed!

For your Wish, what you wanted to accomplish, you said Complete homework before Sunday .

For your Outcome, what would happen if your wish came true, you said I will feel less stressed and more proud .

For you Obstacle, what it is within you that stands in your way, you said Too lazy .

For your Plan, you created this when-then plan to achieve your goal: When I get home, complete a homework assignment before taking a nap .

Whether you changed your WOOP or stuck to that one, here’s where it landed between being a total fail, and going exactly according to plan.

And here’s how much you learned

These goals are hard, and despite our best efforts, our plans can fail.

The important thing is that you learn something along the way!

In week 7, we talked about deliberate practice.

You shared you’ve done daily practice in Sports .

We learned that deliberate practice requires a challenging, hyperspecific goal, maximum concentration, instant feedback, and is often done alone.

In week 8, we discussed feedback.

Even though feedback can be hard to take, it is often the key to improve. So if you want to improve, seek it actively!

You said you felt Motivated when receiving critical feedback, and Motivated when receiving positive feedback.

We then turned to learning about stress.

In week 9, you reported feeling a moderate amount of stress in your life right now, the primary source of it being the state of the world .

We also talked about adversity and failure.

Although related, adversity and failure are different:

Adversity happens to us, whereas failure is something for which we are generally more responsible.

However, how we interpret stress and failure matters…

Interestingly, research has found that people who believe that stress can facilitate learning and growth experience enhanced performance, well-being, and health.

And failure—not achieving a particular goal—can be interpreted as “I’m learning!” and lead you to look for the lesson in that experience.

We closed the Work Smart section of the class by talking about habits.

Throughout the semester, you practice habit building using your Build-A-Habit Guide book.

You describe the habit you chose as Something else .

Whether you were successful in habit building or not, this is how much you learned.

Finally, what good is grit if we do not dream for others?

So, we transitioned to Paying it Forward.

In week 10, we looked at mentors: role models that take an active role in your growth.

Hopefully, your mentor was authoritative, being both supportive and demanding.

Here’s how you described them:

You also wrote a gratitude letter to Other .

In one word, you said it made you feel Happy .

One way of paying it forward is having a prosocial, beyond-the-self purpose. Here’s how you responded to items assessing that.

… and so quickly we arrived at the end of the semester.

Here’s how your mood varied over these weeks.

Do you notice any patterns? Is there anything that correlates with your mood?

Here you can scroll through all the quotes you wrote to summarize each class.

"Happiness is chasing a goal and closing in on it"
Those who are happier tend to be grittier
Expectations often shape effort which can lead to a self fulfilling prophecy
Don't quit on a bad day
Career choices are ill structured problems
Dips in performance are often due to learning/sampling/practice
Feedback is information on the past while advice is for the future
Stress can be a positive influence, rather than something that will hold you back
Habits form when you no longer need to think and just respond
It is beneficial to lean on others for mentorship
Finding ways to do good for other people is crucial for success

In the final class, we looked back to everything we’ve learned together and to how our passion and perseverance evolved during this class.

Here are the comments from your Grit Lab Teammates:

Kevin Wang
I have rarely met someone who values and embodies honesty and truthfulness as much as Phoebe. I remember one of our earliest group discussions, where we talked about our life mottos and philosophies – what she said then stuck with me, that she values honesty and open communication in her friendships and relationships above all else. Her willingness to speak truth and be honest, even if it causes temporary conflict, is extremely admirable to me. And her candor and frankness reflects clearly in all of her decisions and words, such as her ability to express herself freely and openly in all situations. Whether it’s in our group discussions, our talks about our personal lives, or updating about our discovery project statuses and opinions, I always deeply respect how Phoebe isn’t afraid to speak her truth, which inspires us to open up fully and communicate better as well. Although Phoebe has talked about how she is the youngest sibling of her family, her personality comes off as the oldest, in the most complementary way possible. I’m confident that Phoebe’s honesty is a strength that will shine through and carry her throughout every possible situation in life. I was lucky and fortunate to have her in my group for all of Grit Lab, and I know that ahead of her lies successes and achievements just waiting to be grabbed by her. Looking at Phoebe’s Discovery Project about drawing and art, I thought that her final results and creations were simultaneously hilarious, skillful, and a reflection of that honesty and genuineness that she carries with her in her day-to-day life. Her pictures of ordinary cartoon characters doing actions outside the social norm and outside of their expected archetypical behavior shows just how unafraid she is to be fully herself or express what she wants to express. Beyond just the level of talent exhibited in the art pieces, being able to watch her motivations and inspirations for the Discovery Project develop over time and throughout the course of the semester was amazing to watch, as throughout the whole time she was always clear and consistent in what she wanted to express and draw. Thus, getting to see her final completed product on presentation day was like a finale to all that we had heard before, and we were rewarded with pictures that genuinely made me laugh out loud on a day where I otherwise would have just been nervous about presenting. I look forward to seeing more of her art pieces; I’m sure that any that she creates in the future will shock me and make me laugh again, just as she did before.
Leigha Jackson
Phoebe, I really loved getting to know you this semester! I think you are such a truly genuine person and are full of kindness. I always looked forward to our weekly group meetings and getting to hear about your week. It was especially nice getting to know you better outside of the class as well. I know you are going to have an amazing time abroad and I hope you enjoy every minute of it! Your discovery project was truly so artistic. My art preferences in particular align with your creations and I think it was so cool that you made things that were true to your interests. If you ever sell prints of the Mickey and Minnie I would love to buy a copy :)
Amalya Knapp
Phoebe's kindness and honesty have been a cornerstone of our team dynamics. Throughout the semester, I've come to deeply appreciate Phoebe’s genuine and straightforward demeanor. I admired her willingness to share her feelings openly, creating a trusting environment where everyone felt comfortable doing the same. This openness not only fostered a sense of camaraderie but also strengthened our collaboration. Sitting next to Phoebe this semester was a delightful experience, especially during our "pair and share" sessions. Her approachable nature made her an ideal partner for quick discussions mid-class. Phoebe's ability to engage in meaningful conversations, coupled with her warm and friendly demeanor, transformed these moments into not just academic exchanges but also opportunities to connect on a personal level. It's the small, positive interactions like these that contribute to a positive team atmosphere, and Phoebe played a significant role in creating that environment. Phoebe's Discovery project was a testament to her boldness and creativity. It was inspiring to witness Phoebe embracing art once again, mastering Adobe Illustrator and venturing into the digital art realm with enthusiasm. Her project not only showcased her technical skills but also reflected her passion for exploring new and exciting avenues. What stood out the most was Phoebe's unapologetic authenticity, which translates into the bold art projects she took on. I've learned from Phoebe that embracing one's true self and pursuing passions with enthusiasm can lead to both personal and collective success. It has been a pleasure having Phoebe as a teammate this semester, and her kind spirit has added immeasurable value to our group.

We hope you have emerged from Grit Lab a little grittier than you started.

Do you want to see how your grit rubric changed?

Drumroll please…

Don’t worry if the rubric doesn’t yet reflect growth. It is only a coarse measure that cannot replace your own self-reflection.

In any case, grit is not built in a day…

…remember that progress is never smooth…

…so stay passionate and persevering in the lifelong quest of choosing easy, working smart, and paying it forward.

With grit and gratitude,

Angela and the Grit Lab team.